


Deep Cover

by Urdnot Wrecks (touchstone2015)



Category: The Technomancer (Video Game)
Genre: Angst and Feels, Hurt No Comfort, Inspired by Art, M/M, Pre-Relationship
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-03-14
Updated: 2019-03-21
Packaged: 2019-03-31 07:37:54
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 2
Words: 2,093
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13970376
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/touchstone2015/pseuds/Urdnot%20Wrecks
Summary: This first chapter is entirely inspired bythis wonderful artworkby I feed on angst.The stunning image says everything that needs saying.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> This first chapter is entirely inspired by [this wonderful artwork](http://pain-art.tumblr.com/post/171840099182) by I feed on angst.
> 
> The stunning image says everything that needs saying.

They told you to act dumb.  


They gave you a locker-full of Greenhope memorabilia.  
They gave you a cover story: that you’d become a soldier to impress the girl you were sweet on back home.

They gave you an equipment case with a combination that only you know.  
And they sent you to this shit-hole barracks in the middle of Ophir, doing work well below your capabilities.  
And they didn’t tell you why.  
You’re waiting, waiting for them to tell you what to do.

Barracks itself is okay, you suppose. There’s this ass-hole soldier Dave who’s in your squad.  
Doesn’t like you.  
A fuck-you attitude to the world (and the same attitude to you).

You both serve under some Mancer lieutenant.  
Seems like he’s not just doing his army work. They’d probably be interested in knowing about it, but they’ve told you they already have him under observation.  


You’ve not asked who’s doing the watching.

Foundation Day, celebrating the creation of the Corporation, has been and gone.  
With the current security problems, your barracks worked all Foundation Day; now is its day off in lieu.

You’re sitting in the empty dorm; all the other folk are away with family or friends.  
Except Dave, who (you know) is going to be in The Curiosity’s, drinking himself into a stupor.  


And you. You have to keep your cover as a sap from Greenhope who doesn’t have the money to get home.

You’ve been looking forward to doing some hunting.  
There’s a storm locust in the Underworks; last time you tried to get near it, it nearly cost you your life; beast had an electrical kick like a power station, even at a distance.

But as the barracks is empty, and the Underworks is too, perhaps you’ll open up that equipment case and take out the protective clothing they gave you.  
Made from a new top-secret insulator.  
When they gave it to you, they said it would stand up to a Mancer at full throttle; no harm in trying it out on the storm locust.  
So that’s your plan for the day.  
You are a Hunter; it’s the one real thing about yourself you’re allowed to tell others.

\----

Turned out the storm locust was just too strong.  
Wearing the protective clothing got you closer to the beast (at very high risk), but its attacks shook you so much that you couldn’t aim your rifle.  
Bastard is still sitting pretty in the Underworks.

So you returned your equipment to the deserted barracks and headed out to The Curiosity’s for a swift drink.

Dave is sitting at a table by himself.  


“Sitting” is perhaps the wrong word: the guy is misty-eyed and uncoordinated. Every so often, his head falls onto the table and he sleeps.  


After a while, he staggers up and gets himself another beer.  
Doesn’t say anything to the bar-man; perhaps he’s at the stage where he can’t talk.  
In any case no-one talks to him.  


Guy looks as miserable as shit.  
Why does he do this to himself?

About half an hour later, Dave’s body slides off his chair onto the floor.  
Can’t really leave him there.  
The Vory would never attack a soldier, but the Resistance would gladly kidnap him.  
They’d not do anything very terrible to him, but they’d rejoice in the amount of time and effort the Army would use up locating and recovering him.

So get him back to barracks.  


It’s not easy.  
Sometimes Dave rouses a bit, and you can get his arm round your shoulders, wrap your arm round his waist and get him to stagger in the right direction.  
But sometimes he’s completely out of it.

You were lucky at the gate to the Exchange; the military folk recognised what was going on and helped you carry Dave back to the barracks. Like a heavy military bag: one person carrying each of the four corners.

After your helpers had left, Dave started to rouse. You’ve just managed to put him onto his bed, the one below yours; he’s out again as soon as his head touches the pillow.

Get the guy’s boots off so he’ll be more comfortable. There. Done.  
Get the guy’s shirt off, same reason... no. Mustn’t go there.

What the fuck is happening? You see this guy bollock-naked on a regular basis, and now you’re lusting after seeing him shirtless?

But now you realise that you want to see the flesh. You want to touch the flesh.

You want to taste his flesh.

No. Can’t do it. Far too dangerous. Can’t risk any military charge that would compromise your effectiveness.

You rig up a saline drip for Dave, slip the needle into his vein. That should reduce the hangover when he wakes; he’s still going to be sick as a dog, though.  


It’s basic medical training that every soldier has.  
(Your own training is far more extensive, but no-one knows that here.)

Your bunk is above Dave’s, but the barracks is deserted. So you choose a bunk alongside Dave’s, close and on the same level as his.  
That way you can watch over him as he sleeps.

Dave starts to sleep normally after a while; he’s going to be okay.  
As you head towards sleep yourself, you struggle not to think about Dave.  
But in the end, just before you finally drift off, you start to smile.


	2. Chapter 2

As soon as you enter the room, you size up the opposition. Three soldiers and their sergeant.  
The sergeant has one of those very rare semi-automatic weapons; he’s looking very determined; to make matters worse, there’s an edge of desperation about him.  
This is not looking good.

As always, you look over at Dave: and it’s almost as if you’re looking at a civilian.  
Dave seems unaware of the danger he’s in: he’s looking directly at the rebel sergeant, as if in surprise or shock.  
Or perhaps... grief?  
You know Dave well enough to know how much he loves to play the soldier (and in his case with good reason).  
Strange he’s behaving this way when there’s an obvious battle ahead of him.

There’s a brief discussion between your Lieutenant and the rebels: this goes nowhere, the final nail in the coffin being the Lieutenant saying, “Let’s do this.”

During the impasse, you’ve been planning how to play this.  
It’s a difficult choice: if you play as the usual rookie here, you and your entire party will almost certainly be killed; you’ll need your full set of skills to give your team a chance.  
But if you show too much obvious skill, you’ll give yourself away.

As the fight starts, Dave and the Lieutenant immediately focus on individual opponents.  
And although the opposition are a bit distracted by their emotions, they are really skilled, and have the advantage of the rifle Boris holds.

But you’ve now worked out a plan.  
You’ve been taught how to fire accurately even if you’re rolling to avoid incoming attacks.  
(And you spent a long time practising this, finally getting the squad award for your skills in this area.)  
Using this, you get in single, disabling shots on the remaining two foes: once to an elbow, once to a knee.

They aren’t seriously wounded, but they’re not going to be able to take a significant part in the fight; and Dave and Lieutenant, once they’ve dealt with their opponents, can overcome them easily.  
It’s unlikely the rest of your squad will have noted a couple of quick shots when they’re so busy themselves.

And quite suddenly, the sergeant calls out in desperation.

“Stop! Let me go! I am not your enemy. All I want is to live in peace. Please! I’m begging you.”

But the Lieutenant is in no mood to compromise.

“Then it looks like your time here’s up, Boris. Orders are orders. No deserters left alive.

And the battle resumes; but it only takes seconds to incapacitate all the opponents.

“No deserters left alive.”

You’ve been at punishment killings before, even carried out a few yourself.  
A quick look at the rest of your squad shows that they’re new to this.  
Were you not under cover, you might have suggested (respectfully, so as not to embarrass the Lieutenant) your team leave the room while you carry the execution yourself.

The Lieutenant takes the syringe out from his uniform: he has to tug hard at the pocket to open it, and it’s clear that this part of his uniform has never seen use.  
(He’s taken serum from several of the Underworks creatures, but a different device is used for that; and it’s only used when the creature is dead, rather than half-alive.)

The sergeant is face-down on the floor, trying desperately to crawl; standing is well beyond his powers.  
His struggles just about lift his shoulders, but he’s not going anywhere.

You look over at Dave: he hides himself well, but there’s clearly something going on there that you can’t quite read at the minute.

An execution syringe is carefully constructed; pushed hard against the neck, its shape guarantees that it will position itself properly.  
The Lieutenant, as it’s the first time he’s done this, has to put some force into locating it.  
And he starts the mechanism: sharp spikes dig into the skull, and then spread wide to fracture a small area.

Dave is looking at the horror with wide-eyed fascination.

You turn your gaze away, although you’re careful not to look away too obviously.  
You’ve seen this before, and it’s not something you need to witness.  
Or indeed want to witness.

You know the score: the execution starts with silence.  
Much depends on how strong, and strong-willed the victim is.  
You’ve never known a victim keep silent for more than five excruciating seconds.  
On this score, the sergeant does well.

The silence breaks with a low howl; and the noise increases until every breath the victim takes becomes an animal howl.

Convulsions start around this time; important to have the victim pinned down well.  
Even so, the victim will beat their heads repeatedly on the floor, limbs flailing into weird, impossible shapes.  
Normal for victims to vomit and lose control of bowels and bladder.

By that stage the victim should be beyond feeling, if not brain-dead.

The howling will calm down eventually, replaced by a sickening gurgling noise.  
The victim’s convulsions will slow and be replaced by nothing more than a slight twitching.

Lieutenant disconnects the syringe from the body, looks down at it as if he can’t quite believe what he’s done.  
Then he throws the thing aside, races to the corner of the room, and vomits.

Another few seconds: and the paralysis that has crept over Dave suddenly ends.  
And at last you realise what’s been going on: Dave has been torn between his duty as an Abundance soldier, and his love for the executed man.

Dave screams, “That’s not war, it’s just fuckin’ murder,” and launches himself, mace swinging, at the Lieutenant.  
The Lieutenant’s almost caught off guard, but you have to admit that he’s good: he twists away from Dave’s angry charge (Dave should have thought his plan through first).

As Dave regains his balance, he throws himself at the Lieutenant’s throat; and is immediately caught by the Mancer’s magnetic shield.

Dave screams as the charge hits him and hurls him across the room.  
And all is quiet for a few seconds, Dave picking himself off the floor, sporting a bloody nose, the Lieutenant catching his breath and following Dave’s every move, obviously ready to strike him again if needed.

Dave realises this is not a fight he’ll win.  
So he half-grumbles, half-screams,  
“Killin’ our own, crushin’ their heads on our way up some goddamn corporate ladder.”  
Then tears appear on his cheeks, and he starts to sob.

It takes Dave some minutes to regain his composure, which is just as well, as the Lieutenant needs to time to recover from what’s taken place too.

“Fuck it. I’m out.”

And Dave leaves, slamming the door behind him.

The Lieutenant calls, “Soldier! Get back here! Now!”

No response.

You’ve been in this sort of position yourself before: being in a party that executes someone you love like this.  
But you had an advantage: you were loyal.  
You would do anything they asked you to.

Executing a lover was sometimes a test, a right of passage.  
It was in your case.  
And you passed the test.

Occasionally, when you dream, Jim appears.  
And you remember loving him.  
But that doesn’t matter now.  
You’re loyal: that’s all that counts.

**Author's Note:**

> A flaw in the work is that you need to know the story of the game well to understand what's going on; but I wanted to focus on the main character's feelings, rather than get dragged into exposition.


End file.
